Cristobal Galilea
Co-founder, Carz
Cristobal builds Carz alongside the operators who use it — fleet software for independent car-rental businesses leasing weekly to gig drivers in Australia.
Car Rental in Hobart: 5 Local Companies
Cristobal Galilea · 26 October 2026 · 9 min read
- car rental businesses compared in Greater Hobart
- 20
- have a Google rating. 7 have none.
- 13
- have 15+ ratings and at least 4.3★
- 10
- Australian average across 677 independents
- 4.43★
These are the five local car hire companies that made our Hobart list, out of 20 we compared, and what each one’s own site says about bond, minimum age, overseas licences and kilometres. The international brands at Hobart Airport are not on the list; see who rents at the airport. To ask the listed operators for a quote, send one request.
The short answer
Astra Car Rentals, Lo-Cost Auto Rent and AAA Car Rentals top Carz’s Hobart ranking. None of the five publishes a weekly rate.
Only true independents: Australian-owned, Hobart-local, no international franchises and no networks of three or more branches. Built for anyone renting by the week or the month.
The five, by Carz score
The Carz score is the Google rating, weighted by how many people gave it. We add 50 ratings at the Australian average (4.43★) to every business, so a rating from a few dozen people cannot beat the same rating from hundreds. Hobart Car Hire’s 4.7★ from 20 ratings scores 4.509. AAA’s 4.7★ from 280 scores 4.659.
Bar: Carz score. Dashed line: Australian average.
The top 5
- Place 1
Astra Car Rentals
5.0★ from 187 Google ratingsCarz score 4.880Hobart
Highest Carz score in Hobart, trading since 2025.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- Up to $1,000 hold (debit or credit)
- Min age
- Over 21, no P-plates
- Kilometres
- Not published
Read the full review
The newest business on the list: its site says it has been trading since 2025. The office is at 162 Macquarie Street in the city, with a second address at 1 Hawksford Road near the airport, and the site offers daily hire, weekly and monthly hire, cargo vans, an airport pick and drop service and rideshare-approved vehicles. Google lists the airport address as a second business with 34 more ratings; it is the same company, so the score above uses the city listing alone.
The rules live in a hire agreement published as a PDF on its site. Drivers must be over 21 and hold an Australian licence or an international licence written in English. Learner, provisional and probationary licence holders are not accepted. Before you collect the car, Astra places a pre-authorisation of up to $1,000 on a debit or credit card in the name of the renter.
The homepage offers rideshare-approved vehicles, but the standard agreement says the car must not be used for “the carriage of persons or property for hire, fare or reward”. If you plan to drive for Uber or DiDi, get the rideshare terms in writing first. It publishes no weekly price, no minimum term and no kilometre rule.
Who it’s for: a visitor over 21 on a full licence in English who wants a debit card accepted for the hold. Who it’s not for: a P-plater, or anyone who needs a weekly price before they call.
- Place 2
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- $200 to $1,000 (by cover)
- Min age
- 19 (21 in its terms)
- Kilometres
- Not published
Read the full review
Renting cars in Tasmania since 1984, from an office at 40 Victoria Street in the city and another at Hobart Airport. The bond depends on the damage cover you pick: $200 to $1,000, the higher figure going with the standard excess. A $100 deposit is taken when you book, and debit cards are accepted both for the balance and as security. Prepaid and reloadable cards are not.
The FAQ says drivers must be at least 19 with two years on a licence (25 for six-cylinder cars, minibuses and 4WDs), while the terms and conditions say the renter must be over 21. If you are under 21, confirm before you book. A foreign licence is accepted; if it is not in English it needs an International Driving Permit or a certified English translation.
Who it’s for: a renter paying by debit card who wants a lower bond for a higher excess. Who it’s not for: anyone who needs a published price or kilometre allowance; Lo-Cost publishes neither.
- Place 3
AAA Car Rentals
4.7★ from 280 Google ratingsCarz score 4.659Hobart
The lowest published minimum age on the list: 18.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- $200
- Min age
- 18 (to 80)
- Kilometres
- Unlimited (some classes may carry a daily limit)
Read the full review
One office at 73 Warwick Street in the city and no airport depot; the FAQ points arriving renters to the airport shuttle. The owner bought the business in 2015, when it had already been trading for 11 years.
The policy book is the most complete of the five. Drivers must be 18 to 80 with 12 months of driving experience, and provisional (P-plate) licences are accepted under conditions, which include taking the full insurance option. The security deposit is $200, refunded 30 days after the hire ends. The FAQ promises unlimited kilometres, though the terms allow a daily limit on some vehicle classes. An overseas licence needs an International Driving Permit if it is not in English. A debit card used as security carries a 5% surcharge on the full cost of the rental.
The terms ban using the car for rideshare. The FAQ puts the excess for a single-vehicle accident at the full $5,500, while the table in the terms sets $750 to $2,750 depending on age. Ask which one applies before you sign.
Who it’s for: an 18- to 20-year-old, a P-plater, or anyone who wants every rule in writing before booking. Who it’s not for: a rideshare driver, or anyone who wants to collect the car at the airport.
- Place 4
Hayyat Car Rentals
4.6★ from 50 Google ratingsCarz score 4.516Claremont
No website, so the Google rating is all we could check.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- Not published
- Min age
- Not published
- Kilometres
- Not published
Read the full review
Based in Claremont, in the northern suburbs. Google lists it as a car rental agency. We found no website, so there is no price, bond, age or licence rule to report, and it is listed without a link.
Who it’s for: a renter in the northern suburbs willing to settle every term by phone. Who it’s not for: anyone who wants the rules in writing before they pay a bond.
- Place 5
Hobart Car Hire
4.7★ from 20 Google ratingsCarz score 4.509Sandy Bay
Takes any overseas licence that is valid to drive.
Weekly from
Not published
- Bond
- Deposit, amount not published
- Min age
- Not published
- Kilometres
- Not published
Read the full review
A small operator at 2 Balmoral Street in Sandy Bay. Its site pitches short hires to locals whose own car is in for service and longer hires to backpackers and students, and on overseas licences it says: “As long as it is valid to drive, we are accepting it.”
Its terms refuse learner drivers and anyone who has held a licence for less than a year, and forbid carrying persons for hire. They mention a refundable deposit without stating the amount. No price, minimum age or kilometre rule is published.
Who it’s for: a student or working-holiday driver on a foreign licence who wants a longer hire. Who it’s not for: anyone who needs the deposit amount or the age rule before they call.
Just outside the five
Nobody missed the five on score alone. Ten Hobart businesses passed the floor of 15 ratings and 4.3★, and five of them were left out because the methodology excludes networks with three or more branches. All five have a higher Carz score than Hayyat and Hobart Car Hire.
Alice Car Rental (5.0★ over 460 ratings) also rents in Alice Springs and Darwin. YesDrive (4.9★ over 2,286) lists locations in Cambridge, Mascot and Tullamarine. Drive Car Hire (4.8★ over 668) has offices at Hobart City, Hobart Airport and Launceston Airport; Overdrive Car Hire, which Google lists separately, is its sports and luxury line. Kangaroo Rentals (4.9★ over 99) and Turnbull’s Hire (4.8★ over 33) share a phone line and a depot address near Hobart Airport, and run their other branches in Victoria.
Below the floor, Safe Drive Car Rentals in Cambridge has 4.2★ over 298 ratings.
Quick comparison
Six things decide whether you can rent: what a week costs, how long you must commit, what you have to put down, how far you can drive, how old you must be, and whether an overseas licence works.
- Published
- Partly published
- Not published
| Operator | Weekly from | Min term | Bond | Kilometres | Min age | Overseas licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Astra Car Rentals | Not published | Not published | Up to $1,000 hold (debit or credit) | Not published | Over 21, no P-plates | Must be in English |
| 2Lo-Cost Auto Rent | Not published | Not published | $200 to $1,000 (by cover) | Not published | 19 (21 in its terms) | IDP if not in English |
| 3AAA Car Rentals | Not published | Not published | $200 | Unlimited (some classes may carry a daily limit) | 18 (to 80) | IDP if not in English |
| 4Hayyat Car Rentals | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 5Hobart Car Hire | Not published | Not published | Deposit, amount not published | Not published | Not published | Any valid licence |
| Publish it | 0 of 5 | 0 of 5 | 3 of 5, 1 in part | 1 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
None of the five publishes a weekly or a daily price. What they do publish is the entry rules: four state a licence rule, three a minimum age, and three a bond or deposit figure.
Why a 4.7 can sit below a 4.6
Hollow is the Google rating, solid is the Carz score. The fewer ratings a business has, the further its score drops towards the Australian average.
How we ranked these operators
The Carz score starts from the Google rating and counts how many ratings stand behind it, so a 4.7 from 20 people cannot beat a 4.7 from 280. We pulled every car rental business in Greater Hobart from Google Maps on 13 October 2026 and scored it this way.
The technical name is a Bayesian average, the method IMDb uses for its Top 250. Every business starts with 50 notional ratings at the Australian average, and its real ratings are added to those. The Australian average is 4.432★, measured across the 677 rated independent car rental operators in our national census. The Carz score is printed beside every entry, on the same star scale, so the order can be checked without trusting us.
The floor is at least 15 ratings and 4.3★. We excluded international brands, networks with three or more branches, campervan specialists and businesses that do not rent cars. 20 car rental businesses in Greater Hobart were compared; 13 have a Google rating and 7 have none, so those 7 were classified but never scored; 10 passed the floor; 5 were left out as networks; 5 were published.
Some listings Google files under car rental are something else, and their own sites say so. Pacific Community Care provides disability support. Tasmanian Vacations sells holiday packages with Budget cars. Selective Car Rentals redirects to Bargain Car Rentals, a national brand. AutoRent and LeisureRent do rent cars, but both are campervan and motorhome businesses that operate from Hobart, Launceston and Devonport, so they fall under the exclusions for campervan specialists and for networks of three or more branches. Dosimple Global Services has a car rental category on Google, but its reviews describe identity-document services, and its website returned no content.
Bonds, ages, kilometre allowances and licence rules were read from each operator’s own website on 26 October 2026, never from a directory, an aggregator or a booking site. Where an operator publishes nothing, the table says Not published; it never says “no”.
Compiled by the team at Carz, which also builds the software some of these operators run on. We say it here rather than bury it. Nothing on this page is paid for, and no operator can buy a position on it.
Hobart operators can read about Carz’s car rental software. Using it has no bearing on the order above.
What you need to rent weekly in Hobart
Age
Age is the widest gap in Hobart. AAA Car Rentals starts at 18 and runs to 80. Lo-Cost’s FAQ says 19, though its terms say over 21. Astra’s agreement says over 21. Hayyat and Hobart Car Hire publish no age rule.
Overseas licence
Four of the five state a rule. AAA and Lo-Cost need an International Driving Permit or translation if the licence is not in English. Astra accepts an international licence written in English. Hobart Car Hire accepts any licence that is valid to drive.
Bond
From $200 to $1,000 among those that publish it. AAA takes $200. Lo-Cost takes $200 to $1,000 depending on the cover. Astra holds up to $1,000 on a card. Hobart Car Hire mentions a refundable deposit without an amount, and Hayyat publishes nothing.
Debit card
A debit card works at three of them. Astra places its hold on a debit or credit card. Lo-Cost accepts debit for the balance and as security. AAA accepts it as security with a 5% surcharge on the full rental. The other two publish nothing either way.
P-plates
Only AAA says it accepts a provisional licence. It accepts P-platers under conditions, including the full insurance option. Astra refuses learner, provisional and probationary licences, and Hobart Car Hire refuses learners and anyone licensed for less than a year.
Rideshare
No operator on the list allows it in writing. AAA bans rideshare by name. Astra advertises rideshare-approved vehicles, but its standard agreement forbids carrying persons for hire or reward. Hobart Car Hire forbids carrying persons for hire, and Lo-Cost forbids carrying passengers for reward or payment of any kind. Only Hayyat publishes no rule.
Weekly vs daily in Hobart
There is nothing to compare yet. None of the five publishes a daily rate or a weekly rate, so there is no published break-even between a week and seven days. Astra says its weekly and monthly hires come with special deals, and Hobart Car Hire offers longer hires to students and backpackers, but neither prints a number.
A week in Hobart is priced on the phone. Ask each operator for the same car and the same dates, and ask what the bond is on your card type before you compare totals.
What the list says about Hobart’s rental market
Half of Hobart’s highest-rated rental businesses are not local independents. Of the ten that passed the floor, five run branches beyond the city: Alice Car Rental in the Northern Territory, YesDrive in Sydney and Melbourne, Kangaroo and Turnbull’s in Victoria, and Drive Car Hire in Launceston. The other five make up this list, and two of them have fewer than 60 ratings.
Not one of the five publishes a daily or weekly rate, while four of the five publish an overseas-licence rule. Compare with Melbourne, the nearest city on these lists, or see every city on the rankings hub.
Frequently asked questions
How much is weekly car rental in Hobart?
None of the five operators on this list publishes a weekly rate on its own website, and none publishes a daily rate either. Astra Car Rentals says its weekly and monthly hires come with special deals but prints no number. To compare a week, you have to ask each operator for a quote.
Can I rent a car in Hobart at 18?
At AAA Car Rentals, yes: its terms set a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 80, with at least 12 months of driving experience, and it accepts provisional (P-plate) licences under conditions. Lo-Cost Auto Rent’s FAQ says 19 with two years on a licence, though its own terms say over 21. Astra’s hire agreement says over 21 and refuses provisional and probationary licences. Hayyat and Hobart Car Hire publish no minimum age.
Can I rent a car in Hobart on an overseas licence?
Yes, at four of the five, and the rule differs. AAA and Lo-Cost accept a foreign licence with an International Driving Permit or certified translation if it is not in English. Astra’s agreement accepts an international licence written in English. Hobart Car Hire says any licence that is valid to drive is accepted. Hayyat has no website, so its rule is unknown.
What bond do Hobart car rental companies ask for?
AAA Car Rentals takes a $200 security deposit, refunded 30 days after the hire. Lo-Cost’s bond runs from $200 to $1,000 depending on the damage cover you choose. Astra places a pre-authorisation of up to $1,000 on a debit or credit card. Hobart Car Hire mentions a refundable deposit without an amount. Hayyat publishes nothing.
Which Hobart car rentals allow Uber and DiDi driving?
None of the five says so in its terms. AAA Car Rentals bans rideshare by name. Astra’s homepage offers rideshare-approved vehicles, but its standard hire agreement forbids carrying persons for hire, fare or reward, so get the rideshare terms in writing before you sign. Hobart Car Hire’s terms forbid carrying persons for hire, and Lo-Cost’s forbid carrying passengers for reward or payment of any kind. Hayyat publishes no rule.
Why are well-known Hobart names missing from this list?
Five businesses scored above the bottom of this list and were left out under the methodology, which excludes networks with three or more branches. Alice Car Rental also operates in Alice Springs and Darwin; YesDrive has locations in Cambridge, Mascot and Tullamarine; Drive Car Hire has offices at Hobart City, Hobart Airport and Launceston Airport; Kangaroo Rentals and Turnbull’s Hire share a phone line and a Hobart depot address and run their other branches in Victoria. International brands and campervan specialists are excluded too.
How was this ranking calculated?
We pulled every car rental business in Greater Hobart from Google Maps (13 October 2026) and ranked them on a Bayesian average, the method IMDb uses for its Top 250. Every business starts with 50 notional ratings at the Australian average, which is 4.432★ across the 677 rated independent car rental operators in our national census, and its own ratings are added to those. We required at least 15 ratings and 4.3★, and excluded international brands, networks with three or more branches, campervan specialists and businesses that do not rent cars. Bonds, ages and licence rules were read from each operator’s own website on 26 October 2026.